Making your own rune set is one of the most direct ways to engage with the Elder Futhark. The process of carving or marking 24 runes — learning the shape of each one through your hands as well as your eyes — produces a relationship with the symbols that buying a set does not.
This guide covers what materials to use, what tools you need, and how to work through the carving process. The ritual dimension of the practice develops from consistent use, not from the making itself — so this guide stays practical throughout.
Choosing Your Material
Rune sets have historically been made from wood, stone, bone, antler, clay, and other materials. Each has different properties and requires different tools.
Wood
The most commonly used material for handmade rune sets and the most accessible. Fruit woods — apple, cherry, pear — are traditional and carry specific symbolic associations in the Norse world (the apple in particular is connected to Idunn and renewal). Oak, ash, and birch are also appropriate. Avoid very soft woods like pine — they chip easily and do not hold crisp lines.
Buy wooden discs or tiles from a craft supplier, or cut them yourself from branches of appropriate thickness (approximately 3–5cm diameter is a good working size). If cutting from a freshly cut branch, let the wood dry for at least several weeks before carving to prevent cracking.
Stone
Smooth river stones or slate tiles both work well. Stone is more durable than wood but requires different tools — a Dremel rotary tool with a diamond-tipped bit works better than a simple woodcarving tool. Soapstone is particularly good for beginners: it is soft enough to carve with basic tools but durable enough to hold an inscription for years.
Clay or Air-Dry Clay
The most accessible option for beginners — no special tools required, just a pointed implement to incise the rune shapes. Air-dry clay sets hard enough for regular use. Polymer clay (oven-bake) is more durable if you want something that will last longer.
Bone or Antler
The most historically grounded material — many surviving runic objects are inscribed on bone and antler. Shed deer antler is widely available from craft suppliers. It is a challenging material to start with, but produces sets with a distinctly old quality.
Tools
For wood: A small woodcarving knife or V-gouge tool. A sharp pencil for sketching before cutting. Sandpaper (medium then fine) for finishing. Optional: linseed oil, beeswax, or wood stain for finishing the surface.
For stone: A Dremel rotary tool with a diamond-tipped bit, or a diamond-tipped scribe. Safety glasses are essential — stone dust and chips are hazardous.
For clay: A pointed stylus, wooden skewer, or any modelling tool that incises a clean line.
The Carving Process
Step 1: Prepare Your Blanks
Sand or smooth your tiles or stones until they are comfortable to hold. They do not need to be perfectly uniform, but they should be approximately the same size and weight — you will be drawing from a bag, and significant size differences make the selection less random.
Step 2: Sketch Before You Cut
Use a pencil to sketch the rune shape on each blank before carving. Getting the shape wrong with a pencil is easy to fix. Getting it wrong with a knife or a Dremel is not. Use our Elder Futhark guide or the Elder Futhark Chart printable as reference while you work.
Step 3: Carve the Rune
Work slowly and deliberately. Rune shapes are made of straight lines — there are no curves in the Elder Futhark, which makes them relatively clean to carve. Cut along your pencil lines with controlled strokes, deepening gradually rather than trying to reach full depth in one pass.
Carve one rune per session rather than trying to do all 24 in a single day. The slower pace gives you time to learn the shape of each rune through the physical process of making it — a different kind of learning from reading about it. Before each carving session, spend a few minutes reading about that rune's meaning in the Complete Elder Futhark Reference Guide.
Step 4: Finish the Surface
For wood: sand smooth, then apply linseed oil, beeswax, or a wood finish. Oil deepens the wood's colour and seals the surface. The carved rune remains visible and tactile through the oil. Some practitioners fill the carved line with red ochre — a historically documented practice for making runic inscriptions more visible.
For stone: wash dust away, then apply stone wax or leave natural.
For clay: let dry fully (air-dry clay takes 24–72 hours depending on thickness) before handling regularly.
Learning the Runes While Making the Set
Do not carve all 24 runes in alphabetical order at speed. Approach the making as a learning process: before you carve each rune, spend time reading about its meaning, drawing it in your journal, and thinking about what it represents. Then carve it. By the time you have made all 24, you will know them significantly better than when you started.
If you want a structured approach to learning them alongside the making, our guide on how to learn Elder Futhark outlines the most effective method.
Once your set is complete, our guide on how to read runes covers the casting methods and interpretation process.
Caring for Your Rune Set
Keep your rune set in a bag or pouch — not loose in a box where you can see and select specific runes. This preserves the randomness of the draw and also keeps the set contained between uses.
Periodically re-oil wooden rune sets. Stone sets can be rinsed with water and left to dry naturally. Treat the set as something you value — not precious, but tended.
FAQ
Do I need to make a set with all 24 runes?
For rune reading, yes — a full set of 24 Elder Futhark runes is necessary. Some people add a blank rune (sometimes called Wyrd or Odin's rune), though this is not historically documented in Elder Futhark tradition. If you want to start with a partial set for learning, the first aett (Fehu through Wunjo) is a workable subset.
How long does it take to make a full rune set?
Working at one rune per session of 30–60 minutes, a full set can be made over three to four weeks. This pace is appropriate — it mirrors the time needed to actually learn the runes while making them.
What is the best wood for a first rune set?
Apple wood is traditional and symbolically appropriate. Oak is more widely available and symbolically significant in the Norse tradition. If neither is available, any close-grained hardwood that takes carving cleanly will work.
Should I carve the rune name as well as the shape?
Optional. Some practitioners carve only the symbol; others include the phonetic value or rune name on the back. Including the name on the back can help while you are learning — once you know the runes well, you will not need it.
Does a handmade set work better than a purchased one?
Not in any verifiable sense. A purchased set used consistently and attentively will serve you well. A handmade set made without engaging with the meanings will not be better just because you made it. What matters is the relationship you build through use, not the making itself. If carving your own set isn't for you right now, our runes and rune meanings collection has pieces to start that relationship with today.